I’m Glad I Can Give Something

Reading
time 10 minutes

is a writer. She has published several novels (“Paris London Dachau”, “Dla mnie to samo”, “Teraz”, “Nieszpory”) and collected interviews (two conducted along with Anna Dziewit: “Głośniej! Rozmowy z pisarkami” and “Teoria trutnia i inne”; and two by herself: “Jeszcze dzisiaj nie usiadłam” and “Piano rysuje sufit”). Agnieszka also published “Dusza światowa” – an extended interview with Dorota Masłowska. Together with Ewa Kuryluk, she wrote a book in the form of a conversation (“Manhattan i Mała Wenecja”), for which they received the Warsaw Literary Premiere Award.

One of the most talented Polish opera singers, Szymon Komasa, doesn’t hide his emotions while speaking with me. Emotions are crucial in his job and he emanates faith in the fact that art can change our lives for the better. He comes from an artistic family (his mother Gina and sisters Maria and Zofia are singers; his father Wiesław is an actor; and his brother Jan is a film director) and, at the same time, is part of international family – that of art. He talks humbly and with love about those from whom he learns. We will surely hear more about him soon.

Agnieszka Drotkiewicz: Four years ago, you created the character of Hans Castorp in Paweł Mykietyn’s The Magic Mountain, to the libretto by Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk. When I asked Andrzej Chyra – who directed this beautiful spectacle – about you, he texted me: “Szymek has the magnetism and acting potential necessary today on the opera stage. When he needs to, he can delve deep into the character; he can discipline himself, but is not overly rigorous. This, in my opinion, is the feature of a great talent. He has enormous emotional range and a sensitive imagination. Everyone likes him and so they bother him during rehearsals, but if necessary, he is able shake them off

Information

You’ve reached your free article’s limit this month. You can get unlimited access to all our articles and audio content with our digital subscription. If you have an active subscription, please log in.

Subscribe

Agnieszka Drotkiewicz:

is a writer. She has published several novels (“Paris London Dachau”, “Dla mnie to samo”, “Teraz”, “Nieszpory”) and collected interviews (two conducted along with Anna Dziewit: “Głośniej! Rozmowy z pisarkami” and “Teoria trutnia i inne”; and two by herself: “Jeszcze dzisiaj nie usiadłam” and “Piano rysuje sufit”). Agnieszka also published “Dusza światowa” – an extended interview with Dorota Masłowska. Together with Ewa Kuryluk, she wrote a book in the form of a conversation (“Manhattan i Mała Wenecja”), for which they received the Warsaw Literary Premiere Award.

Translation: Joanna Figiel

Publish date: 17.10.2019

Also read:

Jan Błaszczak:

Born in 1987. He works as a program department employee at the Ursynów Cultural Center "Alternatywy." Author of the book "The Dom: New York Bohemia on the Polish Lower East Side," which was published in 2018 in the American series by Wydawnictwo Czarne. He has also published articles in magazines such as "Polityka," "Machina," "Wprost," and "Gazeta Magnetofonowa," and as a reporter, he has collaborated with Program II of Polish Radio.

Although he sang about the rights of his disadvantaged countrymen, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole only registered in the general consciousness as the ‘gentle giant’ who played the American standards.

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole is one of the symbols of Hawaii. One can argue about the artistic significance of his work, but one can also see the difficult history of the island nation reflected in the fate of this musician, as if peering into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. This history speaks not only through his life story and lyrics. The way Kamakawiwoʻole’s songs were received – so strongly correlated with the nationality of the listener – also says as much about the fate and misery of the Hawaiians. Considering that these two perspectives on the creativity of the artist, who died in 1997, cannot be reconciled, one could say that he warranted two biographies: the local and the global; the prosaic and the Hollywood. One of them could have been written by the left-wing historian Howard Zinn, the second could have been filmed by Howard Hawks in between shooting scenes for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It is easy to guess which would hold more truth; it is easy to guess which would be more popular.

I’m Glad I Can Give Something

Also read:

The Double Life Of Israel

Login

Register